Cuomo: Moreland panel will shut down

In a 45-minute conference call with reporters, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said his Moreland Commission panel on public corruption will be mothballed if the state Legislature approves the ethics reform components included in the just-struck $138 billion budget deal.

Cuomo said the panel had helped bring legislative leaders to the point where they’d agree to the package of reforms, which creates an independent enforcement unit within the state Board of Elections, new public corruption felonies and tougher bribery laws, and steps up lobbying disclosure.

“If this package is adopted, then I would end the Moreland Commission,” Cuomo told reporters.

The package, however, stops well short of creating a public financing system for statewide and legislative races, but instead creates a pilot program for such a system restricted to the 2014 Comptroller’s race. Cuomo noted that the current makeup of the Senate — where Republicans stand opposed to public financing and Democrats can’t currently muster 32 votes for it — made a more robust system politically impossible.

While the Moreland panel — created last July and comprised of numerous sitting district attorneys included Albany County’s David Soares — has remained quiet since the start of the 2014 legislative session, its subpoenas for lawmakers’ outside income data and more have received litigious pushback from both chambers. Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver recently complained that the panel was embarked on a fishing expedition designed to intimidate the Legislature.

Whether it worked to a satisfactory result will be the subject of much debate among good-government groups.

The Moreland panel’s last major public action was the December release of its preliminary findings and recommendations, a report which offered tantalizing details about ongoing probes but suggested changes that were almost identical to those put forth by Cuomo in the wake of Albany’s 2013 Springtime for Scandal. That original package of legislation received the cold shoulder from legislative leaders, prompting Cuomo to convene the panel once last year’s legislative work had been accomplished.

For those with historical perspective, the demise of the Moreland Commission is in keeping with past Cuomo compromises — especially the Big Ugly of 2012, when the governor disappointed good government groups by agreeing to a watered-down reform of the redistricting process in exchange for a slate of pre-budget goodies, including a less-generous pension tier for newly hired state workers.

But what did he get in return?

In the conference call, Cuomo said that the signal achievement of the budget included the passage of his property tax freeze plan, which will put rebate checks in homeowners’ mailboxes if their local taxing districts can stay withing the state’s flexible tax cap in the first year, and craft a structural savings plan in the second year.

In response to what Cuomo called “valid” concerns from municipal leaders, the Budget Division — which will assess the savings plans — will consider consolidations and other forms of streamlining in the recent past, and not simply the future.

Cuomo also cited the budget’s education elements, including pre-kindergarten funding and tweaks to the Common Core implementation: Students will not be subject to advancement decisions based on related standardized testing for several years, though teachers’ evaluations will be dependent upon them.

It remains unclear how much of the pre-K funds will go to school districts outside of New York City, where Mayor Bill de Blasio made the expansion of such programs the centerpiece of his 2013 campaign.

Administration sources said that roughly $300 of the $340 earmarked for pre-K this year and next year would go to New York City. While they note that the city is far more prepared that other municipalities to fast-track pre-K offerings, Cuomo has only budgeted $1.5 billion for pre-K statewide over the next five years.

Math majors will note that unless the city’s share of the pre-K pot goes down in the out-years, districts outside of the five boroughs will go begging — a strange circumstance considering Cuomo’s full-throated declaration in February that children in upstate cities and towns should have just as much access to high-quality early education as their big-city counterparts.

Another sellout by Andrew Cuomo. A misdirect that feigns an effective replacement for cleaning house in New York politics, enabling the status quo to chronically reign.
Cuomo the BSer, again says one thing and does another. Nothing has changed, this so-called pilot program will be completely ineffectual, and Andrew will claim success in solving corruption problems in his next campaign for office.

How can anyone support this guy? Unless you’re part of the problem.
If ever there’s a new revolution, it’s people like Cuomo that will make it happen.

Another stunt by our puppermaster that has come to a sad end after we all now realize it was jusy for fun, — er, political points. Yeah, that’s it, political points. Andrew conjured a Moreland Commission panel, which under the law (if it matters to the Thug), has broad authority to investigate and prosecute corrupt politicians, — er, except the Thug’s own political contributors, of course, yeah that’s it, prosecute corrupt politicians. Corrupt politicians except Andrew, yeah that’s it. Hey, deja vu, we’ve all seen this before, and now again, the Pathetic Liar, Andrew Cuomo! Pathetic Liar. ABC.

I see nothing when it comes to corruption in the State of NY. Has anyone ever read former Assembly Members reports on all the authorities?

1. Port Authority – what bridge closing?
2. Battery Park Authority – Cuomo’s #1 donor sits on their board
3. Empire State Development – all the political appointees at this agency
4. Empowerment Zones – how one Director makes more than the Gov.
5. CUNY hiring
6. MWBE corruption
7. Fellows program
8. Civil Service
9. All the authorities in NY
10.Dept. of Agriculture – State Fair

Fascinating compromise taking shape here. Thank you, Casey, for explaining in an environment where so few public officials are willing to discuss in public what they are doing for the public. The Moreland Commission was always an anvil hanging over the heads of lawmakers meant to force them to accept ethics enforcement for themselves, which they have resisted, particularly Sheldon Silver, for decades. One wonders what cases that commission secretly assembled against whom for what. We may never know. Public financing of campaigns has always remained a dream for New York state as a whole. It simply lacks sufficient widespread support, outside New York City, to win political support in the Legislature. But the various reforms described here sound pretty good. Actual enforcement by the Board of Elections, what a concept. And changes to bribery laws that, I guess we are led to believe, will make it practical for district attorneys to indict lawmakers and public officials in ways that only the federal government, with its substantial powers, has in recent years been able to achieve. Let’s see if it passes. What a chess game this appears to have become tied up with budgetary issues and tax cuts, that are so desperately needed if upstate NY’s economy has any hope of recovering….

Could the real reason be that the commission has repeated found most of those investigated and indicted are from New York City? The New York City Democrats is the power base behind his political structure and with election time approaching, he’s fearing the ramification could inevitably be the loss of his political support in the Senate and Assembly do to people having had enough of New York City corruption run rampant. And thus conclusively leading to the loss of his personal political power source which he loves. It’s not from practicality standpoint, but only a face saving measure. Tammany Hall all over again.

One further note: The pilot project for public financing in the state Comptroller’s race, if it passes, and that is a big IF I would guess, has the potential to become a free-for-all as never before seen in a statewide race. I don’t know the details of this, but I presume it would become possible for ANYONE to run for Comptroller with a modicum of small donations. Mr. DiNapoli has been advocating for this for years. It has the potential to become for him a classic case of be careful what you ask for. It seems Mr. Cuomo is quite willing to give Mr. DiNapoli exactly what he’s asked for. Fascinating stuff.

DeBlasio outplayed Cuomo—-> He ‘threatened’ to tax the likes of Bloomburg, Wall street $$ men for pre-K. King Andy couldn’t allow taxes in an election year to the $$ people so…bingo,300 MILLION as a down payment to DeBlasio. The rest of the state gets 40 Million. Are you kidding me? My school district as well as everyone elses outside of NYC raises taxes on EVERYONE to feed the blood suckers (aka teacher’s union) but Cuomo comes to NYC’s aid at the expense of all State taxpayers. Well done, Mr. DeBlasio.

Authorities are dumping grounds for favors. The people in this state get what they deserve. Why is it that the FBI has to investigate our legislature? Why can’t our AG handle the task? Jennings was treated as a hero in albany for almost two decades, what did he do to improve albany? Added more bars……driven up central ave lately? The people of this state just love mediocrity and stagnant politicians. Hey if they didn’t get it done in their first term, give em another one! Where are the upstate jobs? You know, besides the ones we pay for through tax breaks and other incentives to come here? Schumer doesn’t care if remington closes, it’s almost as if he and kiki aren’t really concerned about upstaters at all. Cuomo on the other hand should get the prize, he only cares about 2016, then he can leave NY behind….if he weren’t polling single digits.

Well well.. it is NO secret that the Governor does not like the State Comptroller, who has taken an opposing view to some of the Governor’s wishes.. like changing the State Pension plan to a 401 K type plan. The Comptroller also stands in the way of the Governor getting his hands on the State Pension fund (Daddy Cuomo tried this and had to pay the money back with a fine!).

So.. of course it would make sense that the Comptroller race would be the pilot for campaign finance reform. Cuomo is hoping for someone else in that office that he can better manipulate!!!!

I would like to see campaign finance reform for the Legislative races AND the Governor’s race AND the Comptroller’s race… Governor’s race FIRST. Let King Andrew be on equal footing with his competitors in that race.

While the State Comptroller is the sacrificial lamb for the experiment, DiNaopli already rules out taking contributions from anyone doing business with his office. Yet, the Governor and the Attorney General take oodles of money from people who do tons of business with them. So either all 3 statewides should be in this program or none of them should.

It appears that the only hope for New Yorkers, as far as getting rid of the corruption, rides on the shoulders of the voters, in November, or on the shoulders of the U.S. Attorneys, that cover NYS. Kuomo is neck deep in the corruption. All anyone has to do is search his campaign contributions and sync them up with the tax breaks, regulation relief, Proposition passed or compromise deal that Kuomo pushed through, and it is as plain as the nose on your face.

SN, if the governor gets his pick of comptroller, its game over for the workforce, the taxpayers and the financial stability of the state which is teetering on the edge as it is. This will be Detroit all over again. Cuomo is the most dangerous politician perhaps in NY state history because these decisions can make or break this state, and he seems to not care at all because he is rich.

The Moreland Commission was formed on July 2, 2013 and not even 9 months later they have completed their mission and completely rid Albany of corruption and crime. Well done ladies and gents, pay no mind to those FBI agents as you exit stage left. The should put up a huge banner at the Capitol that says “Mission Accomplished”. (George Bush Moments remembered)

With all of the NY dems that have been indicted/jailed for corruption it’s shocking this panel is being shut down. Must have been getting close to someone big. Kind of like fire the police department so you don’t get arrested. Anybody else find this odd?

He simply used the commission strictly for the purpose of getting dirt on the key members of the legislature to force them to pass his legislative agenda. It was never about rooting out corruption. He is the most corrupt of them all. He simply obtained leverage under the guise of doing something about corruption so he can play hero to the sheep public while coercing the legislature behind closed doors.

This Commission is and was all about smoke and mirrors. The emptiest bucket makes the biggest noise. This group of men/women allegedly were to root out corruption. They, instead, wasted taxpayer dollars and should all be ashamed of themselves. They ARE the problem and NOT the solution. Why can’t one person in this Commission come out and tell the truth. Corruption is rampant in NYS state government. Where are the whistle blowers? Where is the honest media? I hope the FBI starts to investigate the corrupt politicians in NYS now that politicians in Califonia and North Carolina have been nabbed during the past week.